women's rights

Use of the terms “gender” and “gender equality” in Armenia’s new law equal rights stirred major discontent among those believing that the ambiguity of the words set a legal ground for gradual destruction of Armenian families. Pressured by public criticism and the concerns expressed by the Armenian Apostolic Church, the government has replaced “gender” by “equal rights and equal opportunities for men and women”. 

Malaysia came in for particular praise at the ongoing 59th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference here for instituting changes that allowed the participation of more women in the political process, at least within the Commonwealth grouping.

Commonwealth Sec-Gen Dr William Shija said it was affirmative action that indeed some political parties have put into the system to try to reach out to women candidate that have produced results.

Celebrating only five years of independence and following recent fanfare surrounding its struggle to achieve recognition by 100 members of the United Nations, Kosovo may not necessarily be the first country that comes to mind in contemporary discussions of women in diplomatic leadership.

Few female candidates ran for seats in the by-elections for provincial and National Assembly seats in Pakistan recently, let alone won. Similarly, after the country’s general elections in May 2013, the number of women holding contested National Assembly seats fell from 16 to 6. To international observers, the numbers may make Pakistani women appear as passive observers in the country’s political landscape, complacent with the status quo. But the story of Pakistani women’s political participation is more complex.

Heated debate erupted on the floor in the Senate on Thursday after some Senators strongly opposed a provision in the election reform law that requires political parties to ensure thirty percent gender equality during candidates' registration.

Some of the Senators, who opposed with the thirty percent gender equality provision, said the committee on the election reform law should not legalize what is not part of the Constitution of Liberia.

This week our Prime Minister will join the leaders of 15 Pacific Island countries at the 44th meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum.

The 16 all-male leaders will meet for three days in the Marshall Islands, and discuss important issues such as climate change and Fiji's progress towards democratic elections next year.

But let's hope they will also find time to discuss gender equality in the Pacific, and why it is that women in the Pacific are worse off, in many respects, than most other women in the world.

Senegal's former justice minister, Aminata Toure, has been appointed to replace the prime minister, Abdoul Mbaye, she announced to the press on Sunday after the former government had been dismissed.

Toure said after talks at the presidential palace in Dakar that the Senegalese head of state Macky Sall "did me the honour of asking me to form a new government... and I have accepted this post with much humility."

A former PDP Women Leader, Dr Kema Chikwe, on Friday in Abuja advised women to work hard to secure positions in the party as the special convention gets underway.

She explained that the purpose for the special convention was to elect new National Working Committee (NWC) members to fill vacancies created by the resignation of 16 national officers and their deputies.

“Each position of the NWC is specialised. You must have the prerequisite and be sufficiently prepared to hold these positions.